I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4331 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a penalty for assault 

or homicide committed by certain State or local law enforcement officers, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2017 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CLAY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a penalty 

for assault or homicide committed by certain State or 

local law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Police Accountability 

5 Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSAULT OR HOMICIDE BY CERTAIN STATE OR 

2 LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 28. Assault or homicide by certain State or local 

7 law enforcement officers 

8 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—Whoever, being a State or local law 

9 enforcement officer in a public agency which receives Fed10 eral funding under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the 

11 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

12 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) engages in any conduct in the line 

13 of duty that, were the conduct to occur in the special mari14 time and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, 

15 would constitute an offense under section 1111 or 1112 

16 shall be punished as is provided for that offense under 

17 such section. 

18 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State or local law enforcement 

20 officer’ means an employee of a State or local gov21 ernment— 

22 ‘‘(A) who has statutory authority to make 

23 arrests or apprehensions; 

24 ‘‘(B) who is authorized by the agency of 

25 the employee to carry firearms; and 

26 ‘‘(C) whose duties are primarily— 


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1 ‘‘(i) engagement in or supervision of 

2 the prevention, detection, investigation, or 

3 prosecution of, or the incarceration of any 

4 person for, any violation of law; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the protection of Federal, State, 

6 local, or foreign government officials 

7 against threats to personal safety; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State or local government’ 

9 means the government— 

10 ‘‘(A) of a State, the District of Columbia, 

11 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other 

12 territory or possession of the United States; or 

13 ‘‘(B) of a political subdivision of such a 

14 State, District, Commonwealth, territory or 

15 possession.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 18, United States 

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 item: 

‘‘28. Assault or homicide by certain State or local law enforcement officers.’’. 

Æ 


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